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Sunday, May 15, 2011

My house was broken into last night by two robbers who locked me in the bathroom, and proceeded to steal all they could carry. My watchdog, "Killer", did not alert me, and for this reason I am giving him away. I no longer want a dog - I'm installing an electic fence and detection devices with alarms. They're cheaper and more reliable.

Hyundai has unveiled the latest version of the D-segment i40 at the 2011 Barcelona Motor Show. The debut of the Hyundai i40 sedan follows the global reveal of the i40 wagon at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2011.The design concept key words for the Hyundai i40 sedan are 'modern flow' and 'premium wing,' all evolving from the fluidic sculpture philosophy. Hyundai designers wanted to emphasize on creating fluidic volume with a modern touch as well as a sophisticated wing-like detail.High-tech features include smart-parking assist and lane-keeping assist systems, as well as connectivity items like Bluetooth with voice recognition and full map navigation with rear view camera. In terms of comfort and convenience, the i40 will be available with an electric parking brake, front air ventilation seats, heated and reclining rear seats, as well as new features for the segment like auto-defog system, and a heated steering wheel.

Google announced two Chromebooks, one each by Samsung and Acer. Chromebooks do not have an operating system or internal storage. They rely totally on the Chrome web browser for applications and storage.

The Samsung Chromebook has a 12.1-inch screen and an Intel Atom dual-core processor.

It has built-in Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity.

Samsung Chromebook also has a webcam and microphone for video chats and can last 8.5 hours on a single charge.

It will be available in the US and six European countries starting at $429 from June 15.

The Acer Chromebook sports a 11.6-inch screen and an Intel Atom dual-core processor

It also features built-in Wi-Fi and 3G options.

It can last 6 hours on a single charge and will be priced starting $349.

The Chromebooks will also be available in a subscription model - $28/ month per user for businesses and $20/ month per user for educational institutions.

When we refer to alternate fuels for cars, we, at most times, mean electricity, bio-fuel, or ethanol. But what happens when you add the word 'weird' before alternative fuel? It's a whole new story!

Air
A car powered by air? Yes indeed: the MDI Air Pod proves that the notion is not just a load of hot air. In fact, it's a load of compressed air. MDI wants to build charging stations to compress air which will then power its three-wheeled bubble car at speeds up to 50mph, and up to 95 miles range.

Apples
A car that runs on apples - has cider producer Henry Hobhouse been on the tipple? Not at all: this Somerset farmer has converted his Jaguar XJ6 to run on fuel made from apples from his farm. He makes his own methane fuel by pulping apple cores and grass waste at a cost of less than 50p per litre.

Methane Gas
The GENeco Bio-Bug is a real-life 'dung beetle'. The Bristol-built prototype is powered by methane gas generated from household poo. GENeco says it takes about 70 household dung heaps a year to power the car for 10,000 miles. We bet it goes like stink. And you're guaranteed to win at top trumps.

Peddling
Most of us started driving when we got our first pedal-powered car. Well, a few companies make leg-powered cars for grown-ups as a green statement. The HumanCar PS goes one step further by using the arms of its four passengers. You have to 'row' the car using the onboard sticks. Top speed: 30mph on the flat. Oh, there's no steering wheel: instead you need to steer by shifting your buttocks about in the seat

Jet fighter - and a rocket as well
Bloodhound is the latest British land speed record hopeful. Its Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine is used to reach a 'running-in' speed of 300mph, at which point it switches over to hybrid rocket power. The combined engine thrust is 47,500lb - the equivalent of 180 F1 cars. Pilot Andy Green expects to reach the magic 1,000mph barrier in just 42 seconds.

Sugar
Bottoms up, Brazil! Way back in the 1970s, the South American country pioneered the idea of bio-fuel, using its huge sugar cane harvest to circumvent the oil crisis by making ethanol fuel from fermented sugar. Today, Brazilian cars powered by flexi-fuel engines (running on either petrol or alcohol) are widespread, including the all-new Fiat Uno.

Sun
French company Venturi says it wants to make the world's first commercially available solar-powered car. The Eclectic's eccentric look is mostly down to its huge roof covered with photovoltaic solar cells. Since one day of sun will only net you 4.5 miles of road travel, the Eclectic also mimics a wind farm with an optional roof-mounted wind turbine to recharge the batteries as well.

French Fries oil
Thousands of UK drivers have now discovered that you can run some diesel cars on vegetable oil. It's cheaper than regular fuel - and even free if you make friends with your local chip shop. The government won't tax you on it unless you use more than 2,500 litres a year. Only one downside: your car may start smelling like a chip van.

Urine
We're not taking the piss here. An Ohio scientist called Gerardine Botte has developed a catalyst capable of extracting hydrogen from urine. By electrolysing the urea in human pee, she's managed to unleash 0.0005kW - not exactly Ferrari territory, but she hopes her invention can be scaled up.

Dairy Queen workers construct the world's largest ice cream cake, in a square in Toronto. The 21,000-pound (9,525kg) cake consisted of solid ice cream in the centre with 90 kilograms of sponge cake on the outside and 136 kilograms of icing and crushed Oreos on top. After the record was officially set the cake was then shared out amongst hundreds of bystanders. The previous record was an 8,000-kilogram cake in Beijing, a record that stood for five years.

Its engine is of 6.72 liters and of 350 HP! Bike’s tires in size and shape can be comparable to those of planes. By the way, the price strikes too - 250 thousand Euros!

Gunbus 410, the biggest motorcycle in the world, has been showcased by its manufacturer Leonhardt Manufacturing at the Essen Motor Show on 27th Nov 2009. The bike is 5 feet high, 11 feet long and 5 feet wide. It weighs 1400 pounds and comes with whooping power of 350 bhp.

410 cubic inches, two-cylinder V-type engine in a standing position makes you feel the huge elemental force resting in this fascinating aggregate.

The GUNBUS 410 is named after its engine, don’t be confused with the unit of measurement GUNBUS use, its definatley not cc (cubic centremetres), would you believe that the rider sits just inches above a 410 cubic inch V-twin engine. 410 cubic inches is 6.2 Litres in the modern metric world, so each cylinder has a capacity of 3.1 Litres.This monster production bike is unique to say the least however it sports retro racing design, with high wall tyres, naked frame and straight handlebars.

In a zoo in California , a tigress gave birth to a set of triplet cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.

The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cub's, perhaps she would improve.

After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species, will take on the care of a different species. The only 'orphans' that could be found quickly, were a litter of weaning pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger. Would they become cubs or pork chops?? take a look...

Now, if a tigress & piglets can get along........ Why can't the rest of the world?